China Does Things Large

Like walls, and dams, and populations, and now traffic jams.

An epic traffic jam in China is now in it's ninth day, and officials think it may drag on for a full month before sorting itself all the way out.

I haven't found any pictures that do the mess justice, at over 100km of gridlock we'll need some aerial shots for that.  Maybe there will be a google earth update? You can however, read about the jam and see what traffic expert Tom Vanderbuilt has to say about whether it will become a permanent settlement.

(via kottke)

Update:
The WSJ has a slide show with some interesting shots, mostly of how the truck drivers are coping with the mess. Thanks to KS for the tip and pointing out that media access is probably being controlled (this being China and all) and that aerial photos may well be banned.

Read This Now - The Right Answer

I've been staying away from the Park51 nonsense, largely because it is, more so than most things labeled as such, deserving of the moniker.

I don't have the patience to explain it, so I'll just say it's simple: you either believe in the principles on which America was founded and are happy to have your neighbors worship as they choose, or you don't (which makes you anti-American).

Senator Jeff Merkley writing in the Oregonian, makes the point much more eloquently (as well he should, it's nice to see some decent leadership on this one, in fact we're going to give you the whole thing since it really isn't fair to run an excerpt from this piece)...

The debate swirling around the proposed mosque and Muslim community center in lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center site has, for many, tapped into strong emotions of a national trauma that is still raw. But in the churning political and constitutional arguments, one question has not been adequately addressed: what makes a mosque near ground zero offensive?

Nearly everyone in this debate affirms the constitutional right for the mosque's construction. Indeed, that right is a cherished founding principle. As Thomas Jefferson said, "The constitutional freedom of religion [is] the most inalienable and sacred of all human rights." It is no accident that the right to worship in accordance with one's own conscience is enshrined in the First Amendment.

But, many mosque opponents argue, just because it can be built does not mean it should be. They say it would be disrespectful to the memories of those who died on 9/11 to build a Muslim facility near the World Trade Center site. I appreciate the depth of emotions at play, but respectfully suggest that the presence of a mosque is only inappropriate near ground zero if we unfairly associate Muslim Americans with the atrocities of the foreign al-Qaidaterrorists who attacked our nation.

Such an association is a profound error. Muslim Americans are our fellow citizens, not our enemies. Muslim Americans were among the victims who died at the World Trade Center in the 9/11 attacks. Muslim American first responders risked their lives to save their fellow citizens that day. Many of our Muslim neighbors, including thousands of Oregon citizens, serve our country in war zones abroad and our communities at home with dedication and distinction.

Some have also argued that the construction of the mosque would hand a propaganda victory to Osama bin Laden. I think the opposite is true. Al-Qaida justifies its murder by painting America as a nation at war with Islam. Celebrating our freedom of religion and Muslim Americans' place in our communities is a blow to al-Qaida's ideology of hate and division. We strengthen America by distinguishing, clearly and unequivocally, between our al-Qaida enemy and our Muslim neighbors.

President Bush understood the importance of separating the terrorists from over a billion peaceful Muslims around the world whose faith has been used as an excuse by those bent on killing. Speaking at a mosque just six days after the World Trade Center attack, President Bush said, "These acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith, and it's important for my fellow Americans to understand that."

I have great respect for the sentiments of the survivors and family members of those who died on 9/11, and understand that some may not regard the situation this way. But our fundamental religious freedom and our national security -- in addition to fairness for our fellow citizens -- will be well served by drawing a bright line between our Muslim friends and neighbors at home, and our al-Qaida enemy abroad.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City has also spoken well on the subject.

Update:
You know who else gave a good statement on this, Ron Paul. Check it out.

Lizzie Warren For Sheriff

I'd heard this video was out there, but no one told me that it was auto-tuned country rap with line-break dancing in addias...



(via too many places to count)

Read This Now - How Rich

James Surowiecki has a nice rundown on some of the issues with our current tax structure and the problems that face arguments in favor of reforming it.

Interestingly he convincingly declares that this is not a case where simpler would be better.  Instead as American incomes have become increasingly stratified, among the rich, very rich, and filthy rich in particular, what we need is more tax brackets at higher levels...

This makes no sense—there’s a yawning chasm between the professional and the plutocratic classes, and the tax system should reflect that. A better tax system would have more brackets, so that the super-rich pay higher rates. (The most obvious bracket to add would be a higher rate at a million dollars a year, but there’s no reason to stop there.) This would make the system fairer, since it would reflect the real stratification among high-income earners. A few extra brackets at the top could also bring in tens of billions of dollars in additional revenue.

Make sure to read the whole thing.  Surowiecki continues to write simple, informative, and entertaining financial columns, you should try to read them all.

(via TMN which has just joined the reader)

Color Me Impressed

Pretty Sure this is about the most ridiculous baseball catch I've ever seen...



(via AC @ Kottke)

The Joy & Terror Of Grad School

Grad School has long been heralded as a refuge from which to wait out economic storms.  But when your time is up and you have to head back out into the real world it can still be a scary place. 

Especially when this is happening...



Nice visual presentation and demonstration of unemployment trends during the current recession.  Latoya Egwuekwe put the video together and has been updating it fairly regularly as new data becomes available.

If we aren't already large scale farmers in the mid-west looks like we might be headed to DC or Burlington, VT.

(via MB on fb)

About That Oil

Welcome back sports fans!

It feels like a lot must have happened while I was off the grid, but it was August after all, so mostly folks were probably lying low and trying to avoid the heat.

I did hear on the radio that the Administration and BP were claiming that most of the oil had already dissipated from the Gulf.  If you're anything like me your reaction was along the lines of  'Yeah, right.  Good luck with that.'

And indeed those claims are proving likely to be too good to be true.  With a group of Gulf based scientists and reasearchers refuting the Administration's claims, and instead reporting that as much as 79% of the leaked oil may still be in the Gulf (not including the oil that has certainly washed into the fragile wetlands of the region).

Check out the Bloomberg story for the details and let us know if you come across the actual memo (I haven't found it yet).

Update:
Kate Sheppard says the Administration's math on the Oil Disaster reporting doesn't add up.

Update II:
The AFS Blog has a bit more from the academic side of the story and links to the actual report and figures.